This year, the Los Angeles Press Club has chosen french satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo as the recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award. The award is named for former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan just months after the 9/11 attacks.
Charlie Hebdo’s name has been plastered across newspapers and websites across the world ever since last Wednesday, when masked gunmen stormed the newspaper’s offices, killing ten staff members and two police officers. Though few even knew what Charlie Hebdo was before last week, they have been lauded by some for their edgy cartoons and portrayals and criticized by others for being racist. Since almost no one knew who Charlie Hebdo was before last week, some are wondering whether the publication is a worthy recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award, since they likely would not have been considered had they not been attacked and victimized.
Do you think the L.A. Press Club gave the award to the right recipient or was there another journalist or organization that better embodied the tenets of the award?
Guests:
Diana Ljungaeus, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Press Club
Jacob Canfield, freelance cartoonist based in Ann Arbor, MI and writer for “The Hooded Utilitarian,” an online blog and magazine focused on comics and cultural criticism.